Asphyxia
Asphyxia is an obscure monster that appeared in the Silent Hill videogame series. She appears as a boss in Silent Hill: Homecoming. This hideous, gruesome beast is the monstrous and vengeful manifestation of Judge Margaret Holloway's memories of her younger daughter Nora Holloway. Appearance The Asphyxia is a giant monster that resembles a a mass of disgusting corpses of women fused together in a link, somewhat resembling a centipede. It has roughly sixteen hand, six female bodies, a pair of legs with no feet, and a deformed face with no eyes. History Asphyxia appears when Alex Shepherd finds Margaret Holloway strapped to a chair, which he quickly frees her from. He shows her the locket that Elle Holloway gave to him, which belonged to Nora. The memories of Nora manifest and summon Asphyxia soon after. He escorts her to safety when Asphyxia emerges from a fleshy hole in the wall, attacking Deputy Wheeler and pulling him in. Holloway then seals the door behind her, smiling evilly as Alex is trapped within the chamber with her daughter's monstrous incarnation. Alex defeats and kills Asphyxia in the end. Character Asphyxia attacks with her numerous limbs, but she primarily strikes with her 4 main arms, often in a series of 3 swings. She can also spin around and knock Alex down with her long tail section, or simply charge him head on, as well as open her mouth and let out a ghastly shriek which can send Alex tumbling backwards. Her weakness is that she is somewhat easy to dodge (though quite damaging), and her "tail" section is a weak vital point on her body; striking it hard stuns Asphyxia long enough to get a hit on her head. After taking enough damage, Alex forcibly parts the hands covering her mouth forcing her to breathe, killing her. Unlike the other bosses of the game, Asphyxia only has one combat form. Symbolism Asphyxia's name and appearance are symbolic of how Nora Holloway died. Her mother, Judge Holloway, strangled her in order to sacrifice her, to appease the Order's dark God and protect Shepherd's Glen. The numerous hands choking and groping Asphyxia's body symbolize how she was murdered. Nora loved to read, particularly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, her favorite book. Having multiple arms, Asphyxia's form appears similar to that of the Caterpillar in the book and her "scream" is similar to how the Caterpillar blows smoke from his hookah at Alice. Joshua notes that Nora likes the Caterpillar on his photograph of her. Asphyxia's appearance is heavily sexualized, evidenced in both her physical appearance and her sway-like, seductive movement, yet she is still unrevealing (vaginal area and breasts are covered in the same manner as a girl would try to cover herself), perhaps symbolizing how she was nearly a woman full grown but denied it. As depicted in the game, Asphyxia exhibits a tormented existence. It is noted that there is a green substance emitted from her tail when she performs a swiping attack. Usually anything green emitted from the body is a sign of serious infection or is a toxin. The green substance can be attributed to poison; poison can be linked to the wellness, or lack thereof, concerning the soul or the mind. Asphyxia's lack of eyes may also symbolize how Nora Holloway died. Normally, if a person loses consciousness, the lungs automatically seek air and the breathing functions continue, which makes it nearly impossible for someone to suffocate themselves. This could mean that Nora died half-conscious, half-unconscious, which would give the hands around Asphyxia's mouth a dual meaning; not only was she unable to breathe, she was given no reprieve, even once she blacked out. Gallery Horrific Asphyxia.jpg|A line art for the horrific Asphyxia by Kenzie LaMar. Twisted Asphyxia.jpg|An original conceptual sketch of the twisted monster Asphyxia by Kenzie LaMar. Vicious Asphyxia.jpg|The vicious monster Asphyxia emerges and attacks. Ugly Asphyxia.jpg|A view of the ugly monstrosity, Asphyxia. Asphyxia.png|Asphyxia Screaming Asphyxia.jpg|An unfinished artwork of Asphyxia howling the screams of agony. Hideous Asphyxia.jpg Unholy Asphyxia.jpg|An artwork of Asphyxia. Trivia *Asphyxia is a Greek word meaning "suffocation" which indicates the way Nora Holloway was killed (suffocation). It also means "without heartbeat" in Greek, typically linked with deprived oxygen levels in the body. This can lead to hypoxia, which in turn causes cyanosis (discoloration and malformations in the skin). *Asphyxia is one of the only 2 bosses in Silent Hill: Homecoming (the other being Amnion) that was not responsible for the death of a parent, being an incarnation of the parent's memories of their murdered child. However, only Alex's intervention saved Margaret Holloway from a gruesome death at the hands of Asphyxia. *Like many of the creatures and characters in Homecoming, Asphyxia was designed by artist Kenzie LaMar. Some of the original design sketches reveal she had tentacle-like feelers coming out of her breasts. *Defeating Asphyxia in the Xbox 360 version unlocks the Achievement "Catch Your Breath". *Asphyxia's corpse is absent after she is killed; a cutscene of Joshua Shepherd occurs immediately after Alex defeats the boss, and once the player regains control, the body is gone without a trace, unlike the two prior bosses. This was likely an overlook by the staff. Navigation Category:Monsters Category:Female Category:Silent Hill Villains Category:Video Game Villains Category:Thought-Forms Category:Mute Category:Demon Category:Dark Forms Category:Symbolic Category:Deceased Category:Game Bosses Category:Horror Villains Category:Dark Fantasy Villains